Seek To Believe

DAILY READING

Luke 24:1-12

In Luke’s resurrection story, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary mother of James, and a few other unnamed women are the first to preach the good news of Christ’s defeat of death to the apostles. Predictably, they are not believed. 

Luke writes, “But these words seemed to [the apostles] an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” An idle tale? Really? The choice of the word “idle” (leros in the Greek, meaning folly, or nonsense) is particularly frustrating. Because the apostles made a terrible assumption in choosing not to heed their female counterparts. They assumed the women were mistaken in their own lived experience.

How often do we dismiss the experience of another because it doesn’t match our own? If we do not experience racism, then we find it hard to believe it exists elsewhere. If we aren’t the subject of sexist jokes or ridicule, then we mistakenly assume all genders are treated equally everywhere. I love the comic by Nathan Pyle which depicts two eagles having a chat. “Do you think owl is a predator?” one asks the other. “Of course not,” the other responds, “He’s never bothered me.” The first one replies, “Exactly. I have no idea what Mr. Mouse was going on about.”

May we seek to believe the experience of our neighbors. When they rejoice, let us rejoice with them. When they lament, let us lament with them. And when systems of injustice bring them low, let us call on the strength of the risen Christ to correct and amend those systems for the benefit of Christ’s kingdom on earth. Amen.

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